


some and now none of you

by frogcoven



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Canon Compliant, Crimson Flower, Crimson Flower Route, Crimson Flower Spoilers, Drabble, F/F, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Black Eagles Route, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Black Eagles Route Spoilers, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Spoilers, Post-Black Eagles Route (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Title from a Lord Huron Song, byleth is dead, or so edie believes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:21:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25792786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frogcoven/pseuds/frogcoven
Summary: edelgard takes a walk along the ruins of garreg mach. somebody waits for her, a milky vision on the rubble and soil.major crimson flowers/black eagles route spoilers, post time-skip.
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg & My Unit | Byleth, Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth, edeleth - Relationship
Kudos: 31





	some and now none of you

The echo of the stone under her boots were a foreign, yet welcome company during her nightly walk through the courtyard. A stroll through the destruction of Garreg Mach was a tradition practiced by the emperor every other evening or so, ever since the war began. It relieved her of overbearing pain, both physically and mentally, so yes, one could say it was self-appointed therapy. No matter how often Hubert, her vice, tried to advise against it ( _ **“Your Majesty, your heels--the rubble--you will fall and break your ankle!”**_ ), she found it necessary to escape to the perimeters of Garreg Mach’s ruins, where the Black Eagle Strike Force and Adrestrian troops were currently stationed.

Edelgard shivers under the wrath of a breeze wrapping licking at the nape of her neck. Winter was fast approaching, and she had not nearly done as much planning for the coming months as she anticipated. If she hoped to dismantle Rhea’s wretched church once and for all, she’d have to be thinking two steps ahead. No, no. At least five-- ten, actually, at the very least. Perhaps the snow could be a possible advantage. Edelgard chews on her thumb as she stirs around the idea of freezing out the enemy.

_“Lovely breeze tonight, isn’t it?”_

A mellow voice allures her, inciting her shoulders to loosen and eyelids to droop. That voice… It could talk down a boisterous, feral beast; put melodic wind chimes to shame. Edelgard slows to a stop, replaying the sentence in her mind as all her stress seemed to scatter away. A fond smile creeps up on her, and she pulls her finger from her teeth so she can press the smile into her knuckles instead. But just as quickly as she relaxed, she all of a sudden felt a shock on her spine, and she gasped in the chilly air.

“Who-- who’s there?!” Edelgard whips herself around, chest tightening as she realized that she came out here alone. There was not a soul nearby-- or so she thought. A sweat breaks on her forehead as she becomes wary of a possible ambush, having no weapon to defend herself. After a moment or so, she just concedes that she was hearing voices. Edie wraps her arms around herself and continues walking, evading upturned bricks and other debris.

“Now I’m hearing things… maybe I should go back to bed.” Edelgard sighs, fatigued. She felt she had walked far enough, and so she whirled on her heel to return to her quarters. What she sees when she turns around she-- well, she doesn’t expect it all. Even so, nothing more than a shocked gasp is pulled from her.

Edelgard hadn’t seen Byleth for a year. Not since Rhea exposed herself as the Immaculate One and struck down Edelgard’s professor, slaying her in clouds of ash, blood and stone. But there she was, waiting for Edelgard at the opposite corner of the block. Edie couldn’t believe her eyes.

No, really. She couldn’t. No matter how delirious she had been driven these past few months, Edelgard knew in her very soul that it was not her time yet. Surely, there would be a day she would go mad, losing all grasp on this world and its order, but it was not going to be tonight. One thing that might be to blame, though, was her plague of insomnia. Whatever it was, it could not erase the fact that Byleth-- her dead professor-- was stepping even closer. Edelgard met her in the middle, the pair centering themselves in the open courtyard.

Up close, Edelgard could see her face again. Brilliant blue eyes, a smile like she had something silly to say. A demure nose. Freckles. Edie used to spend a whole lecture hour studying her teacher’s angular features, and how the softness of her expressions contradicted that structure. God, she felt like floating whenever they locked eyes. And then Edelgard would think: _if it all came down to it, would she choose me?_

Byleth held Edelgard’s gaze for a blissful eternity, then she let go, moving to approach a gaping pitfall in the ground nearby. She crouches down as if to observe it up close. _“Edelgard,”_ she began, voice clearer than crystal, _“do you remember this place?”_

Edelgard scoffed, walking after her teacher and joining her a short distance away, still hugging herself. If she let go now, she might fall apart. “Of course I do, my teacher. This is where I first told you.” She was staring at the back of Byleth’s head, before tearing her eyes away to look at the inky horizon. “This is where you first knew that we shared a crest.”

Byleth nodded. _“This used to be a reflecting pool, was it not?”_ She pushes away a brick from some mound surrounding the pit, then pushes a stone inside. There’s no sound when, or if, it reaches the ground beneath.

“Why are you here?” Edelgard presses impatiently. “I know you’re dead. Why would my mind deny such an indisputable fact?” Her eyebrows signalled stress, angry with the ‘ghost’ of Byleth showing up here and now. The only reason she is subconsciously eased is by surprise, when Byleth turns to stand up and shows genuine concern. Like an actual person, and not a poltergeist.

Edelgard continues, avoiding eye contact. “I don’t know what to say to you, Professor. Obviously you won’t hear me, because you’re just a figment, aren’t you?” Groaning anxiously, she rubs her forehead. “Maybe Hubert was right. Maybe this isn’t good for me.”

 _“Is it bad to find closure?”_ Byleth returns to her, pulling her wrist away so that she would stop fussing with her forehead. It almost felt like real touch. _“It’s been a year, Edelgard. It’s time for you to move on.”_

“I have moved on,” Edelgard whimpers, wincing at her own insincerity. “I have. I’m continuing with my plan to rebuild Fodlan.” She was tired. So, so tired. She wanted nothing more than to just fall into Byleth and let her catch the ball of feebleness Edelgard felt like she was becoming.

“...you chose _me_ , my teacher. All I ever wanted was someone’s hand to hold down this dark and dreary path. And-- and you chose me... but I couldn’t protect you. Why do you forgive me so easily? Talking to me like there’s nothing wrong?”

Byleth tuts, letting go of Edelgard’s wrist, bringing her hand up to lift her chin towards her instead. _“Why are you giving yourself such a hard time? I thought you wanted me to forgive you.”_

The emperor tears away, huffily sending herself away a few steps. “ _Please_ , stop speaking in riddles!” She claps her palms against the side of her head in frustration. “I don’t deserve your forgiveness. I never forgave all those who hurt me. It’s the way of this world-- it’s cruel, and second chances are rare. I just have to move past all of this. Defend the weak, that-- that is my only duty now.” Her eyebrows crinkle once more as she holds down a rising feeling in her throat. Maybe she was going to go insane sooner than she thought. Or, at least, get really, really sick. “There is blood shed all across this land… so why do I only mourn for you?”

A warmth--a simulated one, at least--pressed against her back. Byleth spoke into her ear, calm and understanding. _“You need to forgive yourself first. And it’s okay to let go, Edelgard. Let go of me.”_ Edelgard chokes on her own breath, her heart pounding uncontrollably. _“It’s okay. Don’t be afraid to cry.”_

There is a minute where Edelgard thinks she actually might, her nose already running from the cold, and a drop of saliva stringing from the corner of her mouth. But she regains control, sniffling as she swiftly swipes underneath her nose to rid the snot, then rubs her sleeve across her mouth. “No,” she says firmly, pulling away from Byleth. “No… I’ve already cried enough over you. I’ve cried enough for ten lifetimes, and I refuse to waste one more tear on the past. All I need now is to look forward.”

The silence that follows tempts Edelgard to glare over her shoulder. Byleth is nowhere in sight. As Edelgard returns to her bed, she knows that one thing is clear:

The old Edelgard is dead. Reborn from her ashes, will be a Crimson Flower.

**Author's Note:**

> that last line is painfully edgy sorry
> 
> this was an audition for a server, so i was debating actually putting this out there. i'm pretty proud of it though, but i'd love to hear some feedback. thank you for reading!


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